


Vanderweek 2018

by God217



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 19:06:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 7,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15125963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/God217/pseuds/God217
Summary: My participation for Vanderweek 2018I'll be using my OC Cassy (Yejin Kim) as well. Mainly because I'm in way too deep with this ship, and the way I write Vanderwood is heavily influenced by headcanons related to it anyway.In addition, I also use they/them pronouns when referring to Vanderwood, so fight me on that lmao. I don't care about "canon", honestly at this point I'm pretty sure not even Cheritz knows their gender.Anyway, please enjoy.I was born for this week.





	1. Line of Duty

For Vanderwood, certain things can happen in the line of duty, things they can’t control.

It’s their job, nothing more.

Some people wake up early in the morning to bake bread, and spend their days selling it and chatting with the customers.

Others are stuck in an office, doing paperwork until way past sundown.

And they just happen to be an immature hacker’s babysitter, as well as occasionally kill people for a living.

Just their job, nothing more, nothing less.

It’s a dangerous job, probably above average, but technically speaking they’re not at a much higher risk to get hurt than a high school teacher.

The difference is that if they really mess up, it won’t just be them that get harmed.

They’re used to seeing people die at this point.

People they know.

They’re also somewhat okay with the thought that they might die soon too, though they’d prefer to avoid that.

But sometimes mistakes are made, even though they’ve sworn themselves to not ever let them happen.

Even though they’ve made an oath to rather die first.

In the end, it’s nothing they could possibly stop, no matter how much they try.

And when somebody matters to them, everything changes.

Because the second they get close to another person is the second they become vulnerable.

Vanderwood has been trained to withstand any form of physical torture. But the psychological toll it takes to watch someone they care about get tortured in their place, that’s something no same person can take.

Which is why they can never, ever get attached.

And why they’re terrified when they do.

Getting attached to 707 was one thing. Considering the amount of time they spent together, it was to be expected, though still inconvenient.

As annoying as he can be, he’s still kind of their only friend, as much as they hate to admit it.

But 707 has had the same training they had, he can handle himself.

More or less.

It may not always seem like it, but he’s a skilled agent.

He knows the risk.

It’s different with Cassy.

She’s innocent.

Cassy doesn’t know they’re an agent, she’s unaware of the danger just talking to them puts her in.

At first they’d thought she was just teasing them, just meaningless fun, which they didn’t appreciate but didn’t truly mind. They didn’t love it, but they could’ve lived with it.

They didn’t expect her to fall for them, not them of all people.

They definitely didn’t expect to fall for her as well.

It was the worst thing they could’ve possibly done, and they were completely aware that it was putting the both of them in mortal danger, especially her.

They’ve seen it before. Seen it happen to other agents.

Their boss is ruthless, so are their clients.

Cassy doesn’t deserve to get hurt for their mistakes. Nobody does, but especially not her.

She doesn’t deserve to get punished in their place.

She shouldn’t have to pay for their feelings.

But they know it will happen sooner or later, because no matter how much they try to hide it, one day someone will find out.

It’s just their luck. Hope isn’t something they bother with anymore.

They love her.

And because of that, one day she’s gonna die.

Yet, still, they can’t bring themselves to part from her, partially because she clearly refuses to let them.

Really, she’s like a little burr, sticking to them no matter what they do.

They’ve tried getting rid of her.

Part of them, a part they refuse to acknowledge, wants to believe that they can protect her.

Somehow.

Maybe there won’t be a happily ever after, but she could at least survive, even though it’d mean starting a completely new life for her, far away from them.

She doesn’t deserve that either, but it’s the only way they can think of to keep her safe.

And heck, they’ll keep her safe, and if it’s the last thing they do.

Certain things can happen in the line of duty, things they can’t control.

But that sure as hell ain’t gonna stop them from trying.


	2. Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is from the POV of my OC Cassy (Yejin Kim), a part of the fanfiction I’ve been planning for almost two years but will probably never actually write.
> 
> Just a very quick summary: Cassy’s father was in the Korean mafia, and when she was 13 both he and her mother were killed. Taegeun, the mafia leader, found Cassy and took her in, telling her that a rival group had done it. In reality, he’d been the one who’d ordered it.
> 
> The scene is just after Cassy pleaded with him to allow Vanderwood to just leave (as she was meant to kill them), expecting him to allow it, but instead she eventually found out the truth and he set out to finish the job himself.
> 
> Now she’s trying to get to them before he does.

Her whole life, ever since Taegeun had found her, Cassy had been on her own.

She’d liked it that way.

She’d never had anybody to rely on, and nobody had ever relied on her.

Every success and every mistake she’d ever made had been hers. And hers alone.

But now things were different.

Now her own safety wasn’t the priority anymore.

And her own safety wasn’t the one in danger.

Betrayal, that was the only thing in her mind.

Her entire life, all she’d done was blindly follow Taegeun’s orders, pledge her undoubted loyalty to him.

She’d called him her uncle.

She’d trusted him.

He’d promised he’d take care of her, and help her get revenge on those that took out her parents.

Nothing but lies, all those years.

It’d been him all along.

He’s used her just like he’d used her father, and now he was throwing her away just the same.

She should’ve never told him.

All this time, she’d been making herself believe she didn’t trust in a single person in the world but herself, but she’d been wrong.

She’d trusted him.

She’d loved him like family, and she’d thought he saw the same in her.

She’d actually believed he’d make an exception for her, let her save one person in a hundred.

All her life, Cassy had been nothing but loyal.

Yet even to the girl he’d practically raised, he didn’t have an ounce of mercy.

He was long gone when she reached her car, out of sight when she drove out of the lot and onto the street, slamming down in the gas pedal as hard as she could.

She knew where he was heading.

And she had to get there first.

She had to warn them.

It didn’t matter to her that she’d have to reveal her secret, her true identity. It didn’t matter that they’d hate her once she did.

It didn’t even matter if she died, as long as only she could save them.

Because once Taegeun had a target, it was over.

He was ruthless, and his eyes were everywhere.

There was no escape from him.

But he’d made one mistake still, and even though he wouldn’t admit it, it was one that was fatal to him.

Because he’d trusted her too.

And she knew him.

She knew exactly what he was planning to do.

And she wouldn’t let him.

There was a reason he’d chosen her as his right hand after all.

To everyone else, he was the boss. But Cassy was his equal.

Taegeun had murdered her parents, for her father choosing his family over his job.

She wasn’t going to let him touch the one she loved.


	3. Vacation

“Vacation“.

That word keeps repeating in their mind, a wondrous dream they’ll likely never achieve.

So what, just because their job is out of the ordinary means they never get to take days off?

If only that idiot of a hacker could get his work done on time for once, only once! Then maybe they’d get a reward for it.

It’s not like they’re asking for much.

Just three weeks, they’d be happy with two even.

They don’t want to quit, but they need a break.

In their mind, they’ve already planned everything out.

They’ve chosen a hotel, a really nice, fancy one with a private beach and a large pool, at the coast of Hawaii. Free cocktails, large buffets three times a day. A spa.

It’s perfect, all they need is the chance to actually go.

For now, the closest thing to vacation time they’re getting are off road field missions, a few days spent somewhere a bit further away, rarely even out of country.

But even when 707 isn’t around, it tends to be quite hard to relax while planning to infiltrate somewhere, or right after a gunfight.

Not that they don’t still try though. After all, it’s the only chance they’re getting.

Nothing like sitting in the bushes by some river, hoping nobody will check there and find you, enjoying a cigarette with your feet in the water.

It’s better than nothing, probably.

They could be stuck at an office instead.

Which, at times, they do wish they were doing, because as annoying as it’d be, it’d at least be consistent. And slightly less life threatening, both for them as well as the guy that keeps testing their patience.

And if they worked at an office, worst case scenario and they could just quit.

Quitting an agency?

Not unless you’ve got a death wish.

Which, well, they’re not quite that close yet.

Still they sometimes can’t help but imagine the dust beneath their feet being sand from a sunny beach rather than bits of a house they just blew up, the warmth on their face the sun instead of a burning car.

It’d really be nice sometimes to just get away, at least for a bit.

Secret agents in movies always get hot beach scenes, right?

Where’s the movie with the guy babysitting some manchild of a hacker?

Right, well, they wouldn’t watch it either. But it’d at least be realistic.

Who wants realism as long as there’s hot chicks?

Ones that aren’t crossdressing guys at least.

Yeah, vacation doesn’t seem to be something happening any time soon, not in this lifetime. Or the next, most likely.

Unless 707 suddenly starts to care about the both of them. Which, honestly, is unlikely.

They’ll win the lottery before that happens, and they don’t even play.

Kinda hard to when you legally don’t exist.

Well, still, nothing can stop them from dreaming.

From closing their eyes just for a bit, pretending the bath tub is an ocean, and their work is far, far away.

It’s nothing more but dreams, and they’re too smart to have pointless hope or whatever.

But at the same time, it’s really all they’ve got at this point.


	4. Housework

It’s the sound of the vacuum running that woke her up.

At two in the morning.

Groggily, Yejin opened her eyes, peering towards the closed door of the room in a mix of confusion and frustration.

They were doing it again.

Honestly, if her partner had some weird obsession with keeping the house clean and orderly, that was fine with her.

Even if they sometimes spent hours a day doing nothing but cleaning, well, if it made them happy then she wouldn’t stop them.

It had never been of much importance to her to have everything sparkling, and admittedly, she wasn’t exactly fond of having to sweep the floors twice a week, but heck, she could live with it.

There were worse habits someone could have.

But why, for the love of everything holy, did those urges have to strike in the middle of the night?

Who vacuums the house at two am?

Well, her partner, apparently.

At least they’d had the decency to shut the bedroom door, not that it made much of a difference. They should be aware by now that she was a light sleeper, as much as it annoyed her.

There’d been a time when she’d needed to be.

But now it was just inconvenient.

At first she considered just going back to sleep, like they’d told her to do several times before. They did know the dangers of disturbing her sleep.

They valued their life enough to at least try not to wake her.

As much as she trued though, it was hard with their side of the bed empty and cold, hearing them shuffle around the living room.

This wasn’t normal, right?

Nobody without issues gets up in the middle of the night to clean.

Honestly, it was unlikely they were having fun if it was that impossible to repress.

If they even risked her fury for it.

Yeah, she was going to murder them.

Groaning, Yejin rolled out of bed, shuffling towards the door before pulling it open and blinking in the artificial light.

There they were, just pulling out the mop to finish up the floor, moon shining in through the window behind them.

“You do realize what time it is, right?” she asked in a dry tone, not making any attempt to hide her annoyance at the fact. “Normal people are trying to sleep.”

Ignoring the face they were pulling, obviously about to give her some sort of reply, she grabbed the mop out of their hand before they got the chance.

There was no need for her to hear what they were going to say.

Not like she needed instructions on how to mop a floor anymore.


	5. Shadows

They’re quite used to being haunted by shadows.

There’s always been someone after them.

Whether it was their father, their boss or their agency’s rivals, someone’s always been lurking behind some corner, ready to strike.

They’ve always caught glimpses out of the corners of their eyes.

But now that they’re safe, that they’re far away from everything, instead of disappearing, the shadows multiplied.

It’s always nothing but glimpses, really.

A quick movement behind a corner, a dark coat in a coffee shop.

Someone calling a name at a grocery store, first syllable similar to their own.

They know that they’re safe, that it’s impossible for anyone to find them where they are, but yet they can’t seem to shake the feeling.

Somewhere, hiding, there is /something/.

They’ve never been safe.

They don’t know how to deal with it.

Maybe that’s the problem, perhaps their mind can’t function without an imminent threat, so it makes up their own.

Their eyes don’t know how to see a regular, domestic life, so they project the memories of their past everywhere they go.

They don’t know if the images are following them, or if they’re the one chasing.

But either way, they’re always on edge.

It’s been months, and part of them still expects the restaurant waiter to pull a gun on them.

They still think every car taking the same turn they do is following on purpose.

They can’t just forget everything they’ve been learning all their life.

Pretend it never happened, lead a normal life.

A new start.

It’d be great if they could. There’s nothing they long for more than to just start over, let their past go and become someone else, for the last time they need to.

But it’s not like the world is that easy.

They can hardly just erase their memory.

And so they have no choice but to live with the shadows following them, creeping into the far edges of their mind and tormenting their dreams.

Their body is safe.

But the rest of them will never be.


	6. Trauma

As someone with a past filled with gunfights and shady deals, she’d have never thought the sound of a car door slamming shut would set her off.

A completely mundane sound, seemingly nonexistent even to most, sending her back to that time.

All of those times.

It’d been a good few months since she’d last had a gun pointed at her face, but she’d never been afraid of it before it had finally stopped.

Maybe it was because she’d actually been shot?

The dull pain still making itself knows right below her collarbone was reminding her that getting shot was damn painful.

But that wasn’t it, that didn’t matter. She’d gotten injured before.

She could take it again, pain wasn’t that big of a deal.

It was the memories that came with it that haunted her, keeping her up at night and flashing up at the most inconvenient times.

She could deal with her being shot at, wrong as it sounded, she’d gotten pretty used to that over the course of her life.

But the bullet hadn’t been meant to her.

It’d been meant for the one person that actually had mattered, that she’d realized was more important than any of the lies she’d believed back then.

And fired from the liar, from the one she’d seen as family.

The only option she‘d had was to shoot him before he got the chance to try again.

Take out the man who’d raised her.

Raised her with false believes, turning her into a copy of himself.

Cold. Ruthless.

His puppet, not his daughter.

He’d never cared for her, not for a second, yet she’d always thought he had.

Until he’d tried to kill the one she’d loved, and she’d found out he’d done the same thing with her parents.

That had, admittedly, pretty much ruined the illusion.

And after some time, she’d come to accept that the whole time, she’d been the bad guy all along.

She’d been the one hurting and using people just the same as they’d done to her when she’d been younger.

She’d never thought she’d be one to care, but it’s hard to live with, really.

She’d been following orders, but if someone found her for revenge, she’d still deserve it.

At least Vanderwood was safe out there, somewhere.

Safe from Taeegeun.

Safe from her.

She’d always been the biggest threat to them.

And she was safe now too, living thousands of miles away, at the most peaceful place she could imagine.

She was safe from the people.

But she’d never be rid of the memories.

The images of everything she’s allowed to happen would stick with her forever.


	7. Loyalties

Vanderwood had never pretended to like their job much, it was hard to like that kind of thing unless you were a complete psychopath.

Yet, their loyalty had never been questioned.

They’d made a contract with GFX, basically selling their entire life to them, their entire being.

They belonged to the agency now, whether they liked it or not.

And there were rules they had to follow, and there had never been any trouble with them doing so.

They’d always been okay with it.

Following rules and obeying orders was practically in their blood.

Doing so gave them a sense of security, and there hadn’t ever been any desire in them to rebel.

They didn’t care for the agency or their boss specifically, but still they were loyal to a fault.

Or, so they’d always thought.

That was what they’d believed before they’d met Cassy.

Before she’d suddenly made them question everything they’d thought they’d known.

Damn, they’d been an agent for so many years, and now all of a sudden she had to come and mess everything up!

Sometimes when they were with her, they even wanted to quit the agency and run away.

Go somewhere they’d be safe, where they could actually have a life with her.

A real life.

The kind of domesticity they’d always only seen in fiction, the typical nine-to-five picket fence bullshit they’d always thought they hated. Find a normal job, be a normal human being, maybe get married, have some kids.

Basically the very last thing an agent like them should be doing.

Each time those thoughts, those unwanted wishes crossed their mind, they shook them off with the best of their ability.

There was no such thing as a safe place.

GFX would find them no matter where they went.

And they’d punish not only them, but her as well.

They were completely and fully aware that the best, the only thing they could do for her, was to get out of her life and to keep as far away from her as possible.

For her own good, for the safety of the both of them.

Never even think of her again.

But they’d tried, and she’d proven to be pretty much impossible to get rid of. And as much as they hated it, they were also glad.

As wrong as they knew it was, they didn’t want her to leave.

Even if they could never be together.

Even if all she did was tease them just to see them flustered.

They knew it was going to be the biggest mistake they’d ever made in their entire life, but they just couldn’t let go of the only person that’d ever made them question their loyalties.

Maybe a part of them did want to risk it.

Maybe they did want to find the slightest shimmer of hope, that they could actually get out.

Maybe, deep down, they wanted to be free.


	8. Fashion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I took notes of all the ideas I had for the prompts before starting all of the fics for this week, and my description for this one was literally just "Cassy judging".

Admittedly, Cassy had never been that interested in fashion. When your job involves people dying, it kind of doesn’t seem all that important what you’re wearing while they do.

Sure, she did have her own style, and she did like looking pretty.

She just wasn’t too bothered by what the fashion magazines she read was telling her to wear.

She just read them because she did want to know what was currently the big deal, mainly so she’d get to seem cool on whatever mission she had to go on. But yeah, she didn’t really care.

Still, even she noticed immediately that Vanderwood was a true fashion disaster.

Honestly.

She wouldn’t even know where to begin if she were to describe what they were wearing, she didn’t dare call it a ‘style’.

She could perhaps excuse the cliché secret agent vibe they had going on, although from what she’d seen, they were the only member of their agency dressing that way. There was hardly a thing anyone could say about black, and the small bit of purple was perhaps a slightly questionable choice, but fine.

But a leopard print lined leather jacket?

If at least they wore it the way a jacket was meant to be worn, but no, it was on their shoulders in a way that she had to wonder if they’d glued it on to prevent it from falling down whenever they moved.

(She may or may not have attempted to wear her own jacket that way at home, and it really hadn’t worked.)

Coupled with the heels on their shoes as well as their strangely fluffy mullet, she really couldn’t blame their partner for referring to them as a woman. Even though it was almost insulting towards females.

At least their eyeliner was on point, part of her did want them to show her how they did it.

But then again, was the makeup really necessary?

It wasn’t like Cassy’s outfits were always perfect or anything, or as if she could make the cover of a magazine with them each time. But well, at least she looked like a normal human being.

At least people didn’t give her strange looks every time she left the house.

Then again… it probably required quite a bit of courage to just go with what they liked instead of what others were expecting.

They didn’t care a bit for the looks, or the thoughts in people’s head when they saw them.

She’d never admit it, of course, but she couldn’t say that she didn’t somewhat admire that about them.

They were a fashion disaster, definitely, inexcusably. But as much as she tired, she couldn’t imagine them looking any different than they did.

Vanderwood in normal clothes?

Now that was just wrong.

As weird as it was, it was /them/.

Unique. Unique to the point that she had no idea where on earth they could possibly be shopping.

She was almost afraid to find out, but still.

It was their thing, so why would she care?

It was fun to tease people, and teasing Vanderwood was especially nice because their reactions were pure gold. And their clothes were too bad /not/ to tease them about.

But really?

She couldn’t care less.

She’d never been that big on fashion.

And heck, it wasn’t her body they were dressing.

Not that she’d ever let them know, or let anyone know. It was a secret she hid better than the truth about who she was, a secret she hid even from herself.

Not something she wanted to acknowledge, definitely not something she wanted to even think about.

But if she were to be really, completely honest with herself, which obviously she’d never be, then she’d have to admit that she actually liked the way they looked.


	9. Childhood

Was it a requirement for an agent to not have a very happy childhood?

Not that they knew anything about the pasts of any of their colleagues, nor did they know of theirs, but it did seem to be a rather common thing from what they’d heard.

Maybe GFX was just the place where all the abused kids ended up one day, it was a pretty sad future if that was true.

It was the case for them at least, though they’d stopped letting it get to them. Their past was past, it legally didn’t exist, so they didn’t care.

An agent doesn’t have a past.

It was fine with them. They didn’t want theirs, anyway.

There was nothing in it worth remembering.

They’d been born in some no-name city in Britain, their mother dying shortly after they’d been born. Their father had raised them, if one could call it that.

Mostly just used them as a punching back for his issues.

It hadn’t helped much that they’d been struggling with their identity, trying to figure out life while they hadn’t had anyone to even talk to.

Especially not after moving to Korea as a teenager, to a country they’d never even learned the customs of.

It kind of made sense, they supposed. Their father had been Korean, and business there had apparently been better anyway.

Nobody had asked them if they’d wanted to move to the other side of the world.

They again, what difference did it make?

If anything, their father only started treating them worse after the move, and their new classmates seemed to be taking lessons from him. It wasn’t easy being the foreign kid that doesn’t even speak the language properly. Or the kid struggling with their gender.

They’d been about sixteen when they’d finally had enough.

When they’d decided that they didn’t /care/ about other people or their opinions.

They’d been approached by a scout from the agency, they were still unsure how he’d even found them, and they’d quit school and taken the job.

Gotten a completely new identity, moved away from everything they’d ever grown up with.

The new place was a shithole.

But they’d never looked back.

After everything they’d had to endure at home, all the abuse and chaos, the consistency of work was a blessing.

It was strict, but there was order.

As long as they did their part right, they were treated with at least some amount of respect.

And if anybody didn‘t, they had a taser and nobody to stop them from using it.

They didn’t know what had happened to their father after they’d run away, neither did they particularily care.

Maybe he’d started feeling bad at some point.

They doubted it.

They hoped karma had caught up with him.

But they didn’t care either way.

It was their past now, and their past didn’t matter.

All they had to care about was the present, and that their incompetent partner would get his work done on time.


	10. Perspectives

It was clear to Cassy how agency GFX was operating, she’d done her research on it after all.

First of all, before anything else, it was pretentious.

Who in the world actually referred to themselves as “secret agents”, aside from James Blond perhaps? How was that a real job?

How was it even secret if it was their real, actual job? What did they tell people when they asked?

Did they list ‘secret agent’ on their CV?

And besides, what was up with all those shady informations they handled?

She’d been doing illegal things ever since being a teenager, she’d practically grown up with it, yet the agency only made her roll her eyes.

She was actually looking forward to infiltrate them and fuck them over.

They deserved it.

Sure, her uncle could be ruthless too if someone broke the rules or betrayed them, but as long as everyone worked together, they were practically all family. She knew all the members by name!

They hung out and stuff!

While at the agency, it honestly seemed like all work no fun, and the second you step out of line there’s the end for you.

Acceptable policy, but pretentious as hell.

It was obvious what those bosses there thought of themselves, using their employees like that.

═══════════════

Vanderwood, on the other hand, well, they hadn’t been in contact with Seoul’s mafia personally, but they’d heard their fair share.

Awful people from what they could tell.

At least in their agency, aside from the few assholes in charge, most agents were really just in it for either the money or because they’d needed the protection.

In the mafia, they were all in it for the ‘fun’.

Not that they could see what’d be fun about drug deals or hired killings, and whatever else shady stuff went on between their ranks.

Those sick people actually enjoyed it.

And yeah, they’d met quite a few people like that, it was honestly disgusting to know how many humans there were that got off on those kinds of things.

Having a whole bunch of them all together in one place?

That was honestly just wrong.

They were a secret agent with a fairly good reputation as long as their partner didn’t ruin it, and therefore they’d done a fair amount of hurting people when they’d needed to. They’d never really enjoyed it, they weren’t the violent type, but they were capable of doing it when necessary.

If they could, they’d be more than happy to give the order to just eradicate that entire group.

They couldn’t, of course, since there were in no place to give orders to anyone. But part of them kind of hoped that someone else would do it.

If they didn’t, it really was only a matter of time until GFX would become a target as well.


	11. Partners

Vanderwood rolled their eyes as soon as they stepped into their partner’s home, their intent to ‘quickly check on him and leave’ immediately proving to not be possible. This was gonna take a while.

How on earth were they ever going to get this boy to actually do his job instead of slacking off and making a mess out of his house?

Sometimes they felt like 707 was just acting out to get a rise out of them or whatever, they certainly had trouble coming up with any other motive. Though, then again, it wasn’t like they actually knew much of anything about the redhead’s life.

They’d only met him the day he’d been assigned their partner, and before that moment, he could’ve done anything. They’d never asked.

Sometimes they were curious, but they knew better than to ask for things they’d regret knowing.

And it wasn’t like he was their first partner.

Their most annoying one perhaps, but although they wouldn’t admit it, his strangely carefree attitude was a rather refreshing change of pace at times.

Everyone else in the agency seemed to always be completely serious, for obvious reasons of course. They were no different, after all, how were they supposed to act any differently with all the cruel stuff they were witnessing on a daily basis?

As much as 707 annoyed them at times, they had no idea how he did it.

None of their previous partners had ever been even remotely like that, in fact, it’d been quite on the contrary. Back when Vanderwood had been a fairly new recruit, it’d been the other agents telling him to basically get their shit together.

Stop caring. Stop being too emotional.

They’d taken the advice and adjusted quickly – they hadn’t had much of a choice.

There was a reason their partners hadn’t stuck.

The same reason they’d learned not to get too attached to them, or anyone.

The first one they’d been assigned to, a middle aged man asked to show them around and keep an eye on them, he’d been almost like a father figure to them, as much as they hated to admit it looking back. They’d been young, they’d made the mistake of liking him, trusting him.

He’d been the first person to ever seem to care for them, teach them things without beating them up if they did wrong.

They’d looked up to him.

Until they’d turned out to be a spy, and blown up half the building the agency had resided in back then.

Vanderwood still had the scar to remember them by.

Second one hadn’t been much different, though she’d been loyal at least. Not that they’d trusted her much, not after that one incident. But she’d been a good agent, tough yet sweet somehow. They’d made a pretty good team, too.

Until she’d been shot on a field mission, never even getting a chance to really try.

She’d barely gotten out of the car.

There’d been a number of others after her, none they liked to remember. 707 was the one that’d stayed the longest so far, having been their partner for several years now.

He could be quite a pain, and sometimes they just wanted to take out their taser and teach him a lesson, but at the same time, somehow they were glad he was still, well, around.

The reason their boss hadn’t taken action against his laziness yet was because they kept putting their own life on the line to buy more time, and they doubted the hacker knew exactly how much they were risking.

Truth was, they didn’t want another partner again.

They’d had enough of those, seen enough people they’d been in charge of keeping safe die right before their eyes.

As annoying as 707 was, it’d be a lot more annoying to have to deal with losing him.

He was different from all the other agents, less serious and less emotionless.

True, Vanderwood had to save his butt a lot more than they should be.

But although they knew it was wrong and they should scold him for it, it didn’t feel all too bad that they were sure that he’d do the same for them if it came down to it.


	12. Habits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What is this Feeling" from Wicked playing in the background

First and foremost, she had the annoying habit to always have the last word.

She didn’t seem to possess a brain-to-mouth filter at all.

No, that wasn’t true – if it were, maybe it’d even be fine with them.

She did have a filter.

She was perfectly in control of her words and her actions, and if she wanted to, she could be as silent and obedient as a little angel.

But she did it anyway.

Just to annoy them.

What really pissed them off was knowing that she was fully aware of what she was doing. It was easy to see by that smug grin on her face that she was saying everything she did on purpose.

She was smarter than she looked, and she chose to use her intelligence to get under people’s skin, just for fun.

Well, it was funny when it happened to somebody else, admittedly. As long as they weren’t on the receiving end of her teasing, they could easily see why she did it.

═════════════════════

To her, the worst thing about them was their darn perfectionism.

Preferring everything to be clean and in order was perfectly acceptable. But they were overdoing it by miles.

Who cleans someone else’s house just because?

It wasn’t their problem, so why did they bother?

And it wasn’t even just that, it also extended to every single thing they did.

There had to be a system, a clear plan. She’d looked at their phone once and seen how they’d sorted their files.

It must’ve taken hours to even set all those folders up, let alone manage to remember where everything was put.

Honestly, she was glad they weren’t in charge of her things. She’d never find anything.

═════════════════════

Meanwhile to them, it bothered them to no end how slobby she could be.

Everything was just thrown in one place, in a way that they had to wonder how on earth she even managed to find anything at all. She was almost as bad as 707 when it came to keeping her things clean, yet she refused to let them help her, insisting she had her ‘own system’.

What kind of system that was, they hadn‘t yet figured out.

There were so many things about her that made them want to just take their taser out and point it at themselves at times.

Aside from her endless teasing and inability to keep anything in an at least remotely orderly fashion, there were also the facts that she somehow managed to break every electronic device within radius by just looking at it, or that she drove way too recklessly.

She insisted she’d never had an accident driving, yet they feared for their life every time they were in a car with her, even if all she did was readjust into a parking space.

No matter how much advice they gave her, she never seemed to listen, going with her own plan anyway, despite how many faults they saw in it. Just out of defiance.

It was impossible for her to let them win in anything.

═════════════════════

And they always needed to correct her in anything she did, she had no idea what they were trying to prove.

As if someone with a leopard print jacket could tell her how to live her life, putting down anything she ever said and making her look completely stupid in the progress.

She refused to ever let them drive, after that one time that she had, and it’d felt like riding with a snail. They were a secret agent that was probably on every wanted list ever. Why the hell would they care about speed limits?

In a car chase, they’d be dead meat.

And besides, it was excruciatingly boring. She had better things to do than waste all her time in a car seat.

═════════════════════

There wasn’t a single day in both of their lives where they didn’t each question their motives, wonder what made them stay despite it all.

What was it about Cassy that made them want to be near her despite all the teasing words and attitude they had to endure.

What was it about Vanderwood that made her feel like she’d rather help them clean their house than leave?

Heck if they knew.

As dysfunctional as they seemed, to them, it was simply the way they were.

It was how they talked.

Despite each of their annoying habits, they’d proven to be a good team when it came down to it. And there weren’t many people they could say that about.

If they always agreed on anything, it’d quickly get boring to no end, after all.

Where’s the fun in life if you never need to argue?

If you’re always in perfect sync, would there even be a need for both to be together? It’d be like a single person with two bodies.

It’d just be wrong.

You’ll never love someone in a way that everything about them is perfect to you, there’s always going to be a few bad sides.

True love is to love them despite.

After all, as people say, opposites attract.

For them, it’s true.


	13. Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on that visual novel in Seven's route where Vanderwood scolds him for even thinking about MC

Being not only his partner but also his supervisor, it was pretty much Vanderwood’s job to teach 707 anything he needed to know, and lecture him about mistakes.

Perhaps not to the extent that they did, but somehow they still felt responsible for him. Even beyond just making sure he did his job right.

They were the one who always convinced their boss to extend deadlines somehow.

They were the one making excuses for him when he was being late with assignments, putting themselves on the line by lying to their clients.

They were the one even cleaning the hacker’s house so he could focus on his tasks instead.

Ever since the redhead had started out at the agency, Vanderwood had been in charge of him, and though they knew that they shouldn’t, they couldn’t help but feel some sort of what could only be friendship.

A fairly strange friendship, admittedly, but they were still friends.

He was the closest thing to a friend they’d ever had.

And nothing in their life had ever shocked them more than realizing that that idiot had managed to fall in love with someone.

It wasn’t that they blamed him.

Obviously it wasn’t really a choice he’d made, and it was clear that he was fully aware of how bad the situation was.

Yet, somehow, he didn’t leave.

He kept talking to that girl.

Vanderwood knew too well what kind of danger he was putting himself in with that, and even more important, what kind of danger he was putting /her/ in.

There was no way he’d get out of that without being hurt.

So it was better to end it as soon as he could, because the longer he waited, the worse it’d get.

They knew.

And as much as he got on their nerves at times, they really didn’t want to see him go through what they’d experienced.

It wasn’t pretty at all.

But it wasn’t as if 707 had ever listened to them anyway.

So no matter how hard they tried, the redhead seemed to be inevitably choosing to learn the hard way.

There was no way Vanderwood could convince him to let go of that girl, as much as they wished otherwise.

The only one able to teach him that lesson would be the agency.

And all they could do was watch.


	14. Opposites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well heck I already kind of did this with the Habits prompt
> 
> Have a continuation of it

It was clear on first sight that the two of them were opposites in every way.

Literally.

Yejin, five foot tall, wearing a cute, pink sweater, round glasses and a little bow in her hair.

Next to her Vanderwood, almost a foot taller, their clothes dark and mysterious, even their hands covered with leather gloves.

One wouldn’t even guess they knew each other if they weren’t speaking, and it was no surprise most people gave them confused glances.

It didn’t help in the least that all they ever seemed to do was fight, bickering nonstop no matter where they went. One could only wonder where all the words they used even came from, how long one could possibly tease someone without running out of things to tease about.

Really, looking at the two of them, it was hard to imagine two people less alike.

Yet, somehow, it still worked out.

As different as they were, it was the little things that mattered the most, as they often tend to do.

They both liked to sit down somewhere for a cigarette break, preferably somewhere with a nice view. Views were one of the few joys of life even people like them were allowed to have, and there were few things more perfect than just sitting together on a rooftop and taking five minutes to just not worry about anything.

Vanderwood liked to cook, and while Yejin loathed the work, she did enjoy to eat, reluctantly helping them out sometimes for the sake of a good meal.

Or they went out to a restaurant, letting someone else do the job for them and just sitting back.

Granted, they never really stopped with the teasing and bickering, but if one paid close attention, then they’d notice that it was never truly hurtful.

There were certain lines that were never crossed, even in the rare case that things really did get ugly.

What might sound like fighting at first was really nothing more but playful banter, an art both of them had mastered over time.

Vanderwood liked to keep the house clean, and while Yejin would much prefer an afternoon on the couch, she still complied with their wishes almost every single day.

She complained about it, but she did it anyway.

In return they put up with her attitude and whatever mood swings she tended to get, and sometimes even allowed her to drive them as long as she promised not to get them both arrested.

Again.

It might look like all she ever did was complain, but they knew her well enough to appreciate the simple fact that, while complaining, she did do things to make them happy.

They knew there weren’t any other people she’d even bother for.

And heck, at least it filled the silence.

After years of working as an agent, they’d probably just waste away in an ordinary, domestic life.

Domesticity to some degree was great. But a nine-to-five picket fence cliché, every day filled with sunshine and sweetness?

Nah.

Differences were what kept life interesting, after all.

And really, they weren’t even as different as it seemed.


End file.
